Pearl Harbor Survivors Chapter 23 North of Lake and Mendocino Counties invites the community to a Dec. 7 commemoration in Library Park. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT – Local survivors and community members will gather on Sunday, Dec. 7, to commemorate the 67^th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The “date which will live in infamy” claimed the lives of more than 2,500 members of the military and ushered the United States into World War II.

The local memorial will take placed at the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association's memorial flag mast at Library Park from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Pearl Harbor Survivors Chapter 23 North of Lake and Mendocino Counties extends a special invitation to Pearl Harbor survivors and the public to attend.

Lucerne resident Jim Harris, 84, served aboard the USS Dobbin during Pearl Harbor, and later would be at the Normandy invasion on D-Day.

He was just 16 when, on that Sunday morning long ago, he watched Japanese planes sweep in over the harbor and begin their attack.

Harris said it's estimated that more than 4,200 Pearl Harbor survivors are still alive today.

In addition to Harris there are five Lake County residents who survived the attack – Walter Urmann, USS Blue; Clarence “Bud” Boner, USS Tennessee; Chuck Bower, US Sub Base, Pearl Harbor; WK Slater, USS Pennsylvania; and Henry Anderson, USS Tennessee.

The local Pearl Harbor Survivors group also includes “sweethearts” Alice Darrow, a Navy nurse and widow of Dean Darrow, who served aboard the USS West Virginia and died in 1991; Vanya Leighton, whose husband Fred – who died earlier this year – served on the USS Ramsay; and Helen Harris, Jim Harris' wife.

A special luncheon, open to the public, will take place at the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake at noon. Sheriff Rod Mitchell will be the speaker.

The public is invited to attend, but reservations are required as soon as possible. Call Janeane Bogner at 998-3280 for reservations or more information.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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